1.0
What we do
Four things, each with the parts it is made of and the weeks it usually takes.
Strategy
What the company is for, who it is for and how it should sound, agreed in writing before anything is drawn.
- 1.1 Audit of everything currently carrying the name
- 1.2 Positioning workshops with the leadership team
- 1.3 Architecture of the brand and its sub-brands
- 1.4 Voice and messaging principles
Typically 4 weeks
Naming
A new name, or a decision to keep the old one, shown as the full round so the choice can be defended.
- 2.1 Naming brief and criteria
- 2.2 Three rounds of candidates
- 2.3 Linguistic and trademark screening
- 2.4 The shortlist, with the reasons
Typically 6 weeks
Identity
The mark, the type, the color and the grid, designed as one system and tested at every size it has to work at.
- 3.1 Logo mark and wordmark lockups
- 3.2 Type system and scale
- 3.3 Color system with accessible pairs
- 3.4 The grid and the layout principles
- 3.5 Motion principles for screen
Typically 8 weeks
Rollout
The system applied to the things that carry it, and the guidelines that let your own team carry on.
- 4.1 Guidelines, printed and online
- 4.2 Templates for print, deck and web
- 4.3 Signage and packaging systems
- 4.4 Handover sessions with the in-house team
Typically 6 weeks
2.0
How an engagement runs
Sixteen weeks from the first workshop to the handover, phase by phase, with the sign-offs marked.
01Strategy
Audit, workshops, positioning and architecture.
02Naming
Only when the name is in question; runs beside strategy.
03Identity
Mark, type, color and grid, tested at every size.
04Applications
Print, screen, signage and packaging drawn on the grid.
05Guidelines and handover
The manual, the templates and two sessions with your team.
5 phases · 16 weeks from start to handover
3.0
What you receive
The handover, itemized by phase, so nobody has to ask where the files are.
Strategy2
Brand platform
Positioning, architecture and messaging principles in one document.
Audit register
Every existing application of the name, photographed and rated.
Identity4
Logo suite
Mark, wordmark and lockups in positive, reversed and one-color.
Type system
Licensed families, the scale and the setting rules.
Color system
Core and extended sets with accessible pairings and codes.
Grid and layout principles
The twelve columns, the margins and the baseline, per format.
Applications3
Stationery and print templates
Letterhead, cards, report and deck templates.
Digital templates
Social, email and web components on the grid.
Signage and packaging system
Panel families and dielines with the mark placed to rule.
Handover2
Guidelines
Printed and online, written for the people who will use them.
Handover sessions
Two working sessions with the in-house team, recorded.
11 items 4 phases 73 files, sessions and documents in total
4.0
Fees
Three sizes of engagement, and the schedule every one of them is paid on.
Identity
A company with a clear strategy that needs a system to carry it.
- Mark, type, color and grid
- Core applications
- Guidelines
Strategy and identity
A company that has outgrown its story as well as its logo.
- Positioning and architecture
- Mark, type, color and grid
- Applications and guidelines
Full rebrand
A new name, a new system and a rollout across every touchpoint.
- Strategy and naming
- The full identity system
- Rollout, templates and handover
Payment schedule
Fees are fixed at proposal and exclude type licenses, printing and travel. Invoices are due in fourteen days. All figures in US dollars.
5.0
Questions we are asked
Printed in full, so a page can be forwarded to whoever signs.
Do we have to start with strategy?
Not always. If the company can say what it is for in one sentence and every partner says the same sentence, we start at identity. If they cannot, four weeks of strategy is cheaper than sixteen weeks of redrawing.
Can we keep our existing name and mark?
Often, and we will say so. Kessler kept a fifty-year-old mark and got a system around it. A naming round that ends in keeping the name is still a decision, and we show the whole round so it is one.
Who will we actually work with?
The four of us. Dana leads the identity, Marcus the strategy and naming, Priya the type and the system, Tom the rollout and the guidelines. There is no account team between you and the people drawing.
How are the fees paid?
Thirty percent on signing, forty when the identity is approved, thirty at handover. The fee is fixed at proposal and excludes type licenses, printing and travel, which we quote as they arise.
What do we get at the end?
Everything on the manifest above: the logo suite, the type and color systems, the grid files, the templates, the printed and online guidelines, and two recorded handover sessions with your team.
Do you work outside Chicago?
Yes. About half our clients are elsewhere in the country. The workshops happen in a room, wherever the room is; the rest runs on calls and shared files, on a weekly cadence.
What if the timetable slips?
It slips at approvals, not at drawing. The timetable marks every sign-off, and we agree who signs before the first workshop, which is what keeps sixteen weeks at sixteen.
Can you take on a project that has to ship in six weeks?
No. A system built in six weeks is a logo with a slide deck, and it does not survive the handover. We will point you to someone who does that well.
Pick the engagement that fits, or let us pick it with you.
Most clients arrive unsure whether they need the strategy phase. A forty-five minute call settles it, and we would rather say a smaller engagement is enough than sell a larger one.